Based upon my references I began sketching some thumbnails it was not long until I came upon design 3.
I decided I would use it as it matched my original envisioning of Johna Astora of a holey warrior seeking battle to cleanse the world of evil.
I blew up the thumbnail and jotted down a few notes about changes I wanted to make for the design to make it more dynamic.
I also took this opportunity to sketch out a design for her sword. At this point I gave her a generic sword of the order of the Bleak Dawn.